Gary Bettman

The Pacific Division will have an eighth team starting with the 2017-18 season. The Sharks will visit Las Vegas, which was officially awarded an NHL franchise on Wednesday, at least two times per season.

The NHL announced that Las Vegas will be in the Pacific Division with no other changes coming to the other three divisions.

Each Pacific Division team will play 29 games within the division. The Sharks and the other Pacific teams will play six teams in the division four times and one team in the division five times.

PITTSBURGH – NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday the league’s participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea is in doubt unless the International Olympic Committee reverses its sentiment that travel and insurance costs should not be subsidized for any sport.

In past years, the IOC and the International Ice Hockey Federation have funded the out of pocket costs for players attending the past five Olympics. Bettman said the costs have been considerable, and added that if IOC President Thomas Bach and Rene Fasel of the IIHF “are unable to resolve the expense issue, I have no doubt that it will have a significant impact on our decision.”

Sharks All-Stars Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns apparently want to make sure former teammate John Scott leaves Nashville, Tennessee with a lot more than a few souvenirs and some cool memories.

Scott told Sportsnet in Canada on Friday that he chatted with Burns and Pavelski a day earlier, and they told the 6-foot-8, 265-pound enforcer they’ll try to set him up for a few goals when NHL All-Star game’s 3-on-3 tournament begins Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a great moment and a sad moment. Already 25 years. I was here when we had the reception for the original season ticket holders, now for 25 years. And I saw some of the names. Scott McNealy for example. Twenty-five years and I’m with the Sharks since 23 years. It’s a long time, great time, great memories. No Stanley Cup yet.”

Sharks forward Raffi Torres will have a hearing Monday with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety regarding his illegal hit to the head on Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg.
Torres has been suspended four times in his NHL career, but is technically not considered a repeat offender since he has not had any suspensions in the last 18 months. Still, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety guidelines state that “even if a player is not defined as a repeat offender, his past history may come into consideration when determining future supplemental discipline.”
That doesn’t bode well for Torres.
Here’s a brief rundown of his suspension history.

The Sharks announced Tuesday they will unveil a banner dedicated to the team’s original owner, George Gund III, before their regular season home opener Oct. 10 against Anaheim.

The unveiling coincides with the start of the Sharks’ 25th anniversary season and be a permanent honor to Gund, who helped bring hockey to San Jose. Participants in the tribute will include Gund’s brother and former original Sharks co-owner Gordon Gund, son George Gund IV, Susan Savage, wife of the late Art Savage who served as the Sharks first president and CEO, Matt Levine, the team’s first head of business operations, and George Kingston, the Sharks first head coach.

“George Gund’s love of the game of hockey, and his belief in the city of San Jose and our fans are the reasons we are all here today,” Sharks owner Hasso Plattner said in a statement. “His legacy deserves to be honored and remembered forever. This banner will serve to remind everyone of his impact on the game of hockey and the Sharks franchise.”